GOP trio faces questions: Too much like Obama?

Ask virtually any Republican politician about Barack Obama, and you’ll hear a common critique: He was too green for the presidency and lacked critical executive experience. “He never even ran a lemonade stand,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham often says.

Come 2016, that same criticism could haunt three of the top potential Republican contenders for the White House.

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Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio are each in first Senate terms. None has executive experience. Two are in their early 40s, and one is barely in his 50s. Like Obama before 2008, they have spent too little time in Washington to build a robust legislative portfolio. And yet, like Obama, each is viewed as a fresh-faced star in his party at a time when many voters are looking for something new.

While Obama’s meteoric ascent to the White House may give each of the Republican senators hope, a relatively thin résumé can be a major liability, especially when the field could include current and former governors, such as Jeb Bush of Florida or Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who can claim executive experience.

In addition, the GOP has a long track record of nominating presidential candidates with established national profiles who are seen as next in line — whether it was Mitt Romney, Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan.

In interviews with more than a dozen party elders and top GOP officials, many were quick to note that the senators’ collective lack of national experience will be a major hurdle should they run in 2016. No one is ready to rule out the trio based on their résumés alone, but the Obama era has left many worried about a Republican following the president’s trajectory and replicating what the GOP believes are his ample mistakes.

“That’s a big deal,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.). “People are going to be looking for an adult: an individual who can make decisions under crisis after watching the president learn on the job.”

“Certainly, the last five years may have made people think that [executive experience is] more valuable than perhaps they thought it was before,” added Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

Still, the 2016 field is wide open on the GOP side — and even some Republican governors looking at a White House run lack hefty résumés themselves. The three senators’ efforts to position themselves suggest that each is, in essence, asking to be judged mainly on the strength of his ideas — not strictly on whether he has enough experience for the job.

Rubio, 42, has been globetrotting to beef up his foreign policy credentials while methodically rolling out domestic proposals on topics ranging from battling poverty to overhauling retirement programs, an issue he will discuss Tuesday at the National Press Club.

Paul, 51, has been traveling across the nation, trying to showcase his appeal beyond conservative base voters by pushing economic policy measures he says will appeal to a diverse array of Americans, including young people and those in inner cities who typically lean Democrat.

And Cruz, 43, is trying to show that he has been spearheading the right’s fight in his 15 months in Washington, whether it’s on Obamacare, the deficit or Benghazi. That sort of leadership, the senator says, is what voters will be looking for in the next presidential election.

“… I intend to vote for whoever is standing up and leading [and] making the case we need to get back to our free market principles, we need to get back to our constitutional liberties,” Cruz, a former Texas solicitor general, said when asked about his experience in a recent interview. “And by any measure, there are five, 10, 15 people that seem to be thinking about potentially running [for president]. I would encourage every one of them to do exactly that — to stand up and lead to make the case to reach voters who are not hearing the message otherwise, to reach young people and Hispanics and African Americans and single moms.”

Paul and his advisers dismiss suggestions that he is not qualified for the White House, even though the son of a former congressman and career ophthalmologist won his first elective office less than four years ago.

“No, I don’t think many people are interested in that,” Paul said when asked if his lack of political experience would be a liability come 2016. He added: “I haven’t decided whether I’m going for it.”